Properties and Parameterization of the Stable Boundary Layer over Moderate Topography

Abstract

Numerical simulations are used to investigate the impact on the stable boundary layer of moderate topography (with hill heights in some cases comparable to the undisturbed boundary layer depth). Area-averaged properties of the resulting boundary layers, which are often highly inhomogeneous, are diagnosed. The presence of the hills leads to enhanced turbulence and drag, and a deepening of the area-averaged boundary layers (over and above that due to a simple displacement effect). The ability of well-established formulas for the depth of the boundary layer over homogeneous terrain to predict this deepening is investigated. Finally, the implications of the results for the use in large-scale weather and climate prediction models of effective roughness length parameterizations of the effects of hills are discussed. While not capturing some of the more detailed effects, the simplest approach of using a roughness length independent of stability is found to perform reasonably well in predicting the total surface drag.